This special issue of the Comparative Law Yearbook of International Business deals with the very topical subject of e-commerce. This is an area that has seen an explosion of interest in recent years but, since the increase in the use of the Internet as a vehicle for conducting business transactions has been so rapid, the law has again fallen behind, particularly in the areas of regulation and jurisdiction.

The situation is changing, however, with the introduction of both national and international legislation dealing with issues and relating to, inter alia, data protection, privacy, electronic signatures, consumer protection and morality. The authors in this volume provide commentaries on the most recent developments in various jurisdictions, including the approach of the European Union to the problems raised by e-commerce. They discuss the difficulties in relation to jurisdiction arising from the global nature of Internet and the possibilities for dispute resolution between multi-national parties to an electronic transaction.

The topic is obviously one that will require much attention in the coming years and one which will need strict regulation if electronic commerce is destined to become the trading medium of the future.